Sorgeldom's other 2011 offering, ...From Outer Intelligences, differs greatly from its counterpart in that the atmosphere is more enveloping and the instrumentation is seemingly more mature - as if the story being told is completely different. And it probably is.

I don't speak a lick of Swedish, but one can easily assume by the cover art (a space ship, a dude with the Sun for a head holding a baby with Earth for a head, etc. compared to a dude in a forest playing his violin while some ghoulish tree-type monster creeps on him from the shadows) that lyrically the albums are worlds apart. It's only fitting that the music should differ as well.

It's still black metal, obviously. It's not like they uploaded a bunch of ABBA covers to Youtube or something. But the straightforward approach is much less so, with acoustics and clean vocals making a more significant mark on the overall product. And in this instance, the clean chants are more appropriate in their use, backed up by hypnotic grandpa guitars and beautiful melodies balanced by subtle keyboards and wailing guitar work.

Perhaps this album can best be compared to some of the shoegaze-influenced works that are becoming so popular recently, only it's not by any means a "metalgaze" release. The fuzzy production and song structures resemble the work of An Autumn For Crippled Children with some of the quirky elements Lifelover became renowned for.

Thankfully the album has a lot of replay value and holds its own in the Swedish black metal scene. Now if they could just break through whatever barrier seems to be holding them back from worldwide acclaim, maybe there would be more people for me to talk with about their awesome music.

You can listen to both albums when you're over in April. This one I would rate 7.6 and Vithatten 7.3
So, decent stuff but nothing great. Just like latest Nightbringer, Fall Of Rauros were decent but not great.

You can listen to both albums when you're over in April. This one I would rate 7.6 and Vithatten 7.3
So, decent stuff but nothing great. Just like latest Nightbringer, Fall Of Rauros were decent but not great.

Nice! I'll sure check them out if I don't end up listening to them before the trip.

Written by Verdun_sc on 08.03.2012 at 06:24Really, really enjoyed Svitjod too. Big surprise for me after thinking Vittra was just an average album, mostly due to the drums. And I also really love Falls of Rauros' new one too, for the record. Which, again, surprised me, cause I dont really listen to much from their first two records.

I was the opposite with Skogen. I really enjoyed Vittra but Svitjod felt really weak. Maybe a few more listens before the review will change my mind though. Crazier things have happened.

As for Falls of Rauros... well that was definitely a pleasant surprise for me. I remember listening to their 2008 release but forgot about it completely. Then I went back and checked their debut too, and I can confidently say their discography thus far has impressed me greatly.

Glad to see this band getting attention on metalstorm! Jododen is hard at work on his solo album. Everyone should also check out Sorgeldom's Innerlig Formorkelse and Inner Receivings! Supreme black metal.

Written by Konrad on 08.03.2012 at 22:17Glad to see this band getting attention on metalstorm! Jododen is hard at work on his solo album. Everyone should also check out Sorgeldom's Innerlig Formorkelse and Inner Receivings! Supreme black metal.

Indeed, and thanks for the heads up on the solo effort. Is he keeping with the black metal theme or is this going to be like Karl Sanders doing his own thing.

Written by Konrad on 08.03.2012 at 22:17Glad to see this band getting attention on metalstorm! Jododen is hard at work on his solo album. Everyone should also check out Sorgeldom's Innerlig Formorkelse and Inner Receivings! Supreme black metal.

Indeed, and thanks for the heads up on the solo effort. Is he keeping with the black metal theme or is this going to be like Karl Sanders doing his own thing.

In his own words:

"It will remind alot of Sorgeldom but its gonna be alot more different at the same time, And it will not contain any programming whatsoever, I am far from as good as the Sorgeldom drummer, but if one plays it the "right" way, emotion beats techniqe in all aspects.Im gonna upload a sample in the near future, on my myspace."

He does have a solo myspace and has done some stuff in the past, but most of it was just string work I believe... it didn't sound like anything except for rough experimentation from what I can remember. He said they also have a vocal-less Sorgeldom album that they recorded a while back in the same manner as Vithatten. Not sure what I think about that, but I'm excited for the solo work because he's very inspired to write music right now. The bass lines in "Hanford av Tvangshandlinges Synagoga" are just fucking tremendous!